A Funny Girl Named Belle
by darkonesroses
Summary: Mr. Gold is an alone, usually irritated witht he world business man who would have much sat alone in his house on a rainy day. But then fate had to so rudely interrupt by throwing Belle French in his way, leading to coffee at her apartment, then lunch, then the movies... and kisses. please review!
1. Chapter 1

If there was one thing that irritated Mr. Gold, it was rain. The pressure hurt his bum ankle immensely, and it didn't help that he had to_ walk_ home. Blast it all. Getting up from the booth and slapping his money on the table, he headed outside into the freezing Maine weather. He couldn't seek shelter here, no one did more than tolerate him in the diner. Hell, no one did more than tolerate him anywhere.

Tightening his coat around him and gripping his cane, he ventured out into the the rain. Within minutes he was soaked, and he muttered curses under his breath as he trudged on. He thought about stopping at the shop to dry off and take a few gulps of scotch before heading home. That was, until fate intervened.

Gold suddenly found himself colliding with a body and an umbrella, causing them both to fall over onto the wet concrete.

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry!" the person he had collided with was quick to recover, getting up and holding the umbrella over their heads. A small, delicate, pale hand reached down to him. "Here, let me help."

Gold blinked the water out of his eyes and looked up at this new person. It was Belle French, the woman who ran the library across the street form his shop. Her brown curls hung from her head, wet, and her blue eyes were filled with concern as she looked down at him. Concern, not fear, like how everyone else looked at him in this town. She was _concerned_ about _him_. He must be dreaming.

He grabbed his cane in one hand and then hers in the other, and with her help he was able to stand.

"I'm so sorry about that," Belle said. "I didn't see you."

"It-It's no matter," he said. Why was she talking to him. No one ever talked to him, unless it was about rent. And she was standing here, holding the umbrella over both her and his head, looking at him with concern, talking to him.

"Oh, you're soaked," she said. "Here, why don't you come to the library? It's warm there, and we'll have coffee, ok?"

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"Yes, of course," she said. "You're Mr. Gold, you own the pawn shop across from the library. Why does that matter?"

It mattered for many reasons. He owned the town, including her library and the flat she lived in. his reputation through town was not a good one. He was an ugly old monster of a man if anything else. But at that moment, the beautiful Belle French made all of that not matter.

"Now are you going to come to the library, or do you want to be soaking wet?" she asked, completely serious.

"...Alright, I'll go with you Miss French," he said, and wordlessly followed her to the library under her umbrella. Belle French was a funny girl.

The library was dark, but it was warm. She led him through the shelves and shelves of books to her small flat which wasn't very special, holding only the basics that a house should have. But the sofa looked very comfortable.

Belle hung up her rain coat and insisted that he hang his coat too. She got him a towel and had him sit on the sofa while she made coffee. For the first time in a long time, Mr. Gold found himself at a loss for words. Here he was, sitting in Miss French's apartment and she was making him coffee without caring about who he was or rent or anything... unless she was just having him warm up to her so she could ask for lenience when the time for rent collection came around. He rolled his eyes. People...

"Being nice to me wont make me more lenient on the rent." he said as she came to the couch with the coffee. She looked at him confused.

"what about the rent?" she asked.

"Well, that must be the reason why you brought me here, isn't' it?" he asked. "Trying to get on my good side so I can spare you more time when rent day comes. Jest telling you, dearie, I don't' have a good side."

"Are you really that idiotic?" she said, handing him a cup. "You think I'm like that? For your information, Mr. Gold, I have no problem with the rent, and what's wrong with being friendly?"

For that, Gold had no answer. He still suspected she was just trying to have him be lenient on the rent, but he decided to drop it for now.

"They why am I here, Miss French?" he asked.

"Call it an apology for slamming into you," she smiled. "Besides, I... I would like some company. The only reason I went out in the rain was to maybe talk to someone. It gets so lonely and quiet here."

"It's a library, Miss French," he said, sipping his coffee. "It's supposed to be quiet."

"The silence can be deafening when you have no one to share it with," she said. "You of all people should know that, Mr. Gold."

"Me?" he asked, looking at her.

"You're' alone too, spending all that time in that pawn shop," she said. "It must get lonely, I know it does."

Gold once again found himself speechless because of this woman. How could she know that? Did she really...really understand him? She was rather a funny girl...

Belle began to talk about books, and he sat back and listened, sipping his coffee as she jabbered on and on. Gold liked to hear her voice. It was enchanting, that lovely accent he wouldn't soon forget. Almost an hour passed this way, friendly conversation of books and movies and questions like why he always wore suits. And then there was silence. Just peaceful, content silence as they finished their second cup of coffee. And then they realized something...

The rain had stopped.

"...You should probably get going..." she said, genuinely disappointed that he had to go. He looked at her. He didn't want this to end. She was a strong, beautiful woman who had only wanted company. And truth be told, he had wanted company too.

"...Perhaps we could do this again, sometime?" he asked. "As long as you're not trying to spare you more time on the rent."

"Again with the rent?" she smiled. "How long will it take you to figure out that I'm not after that?"

"Not as long as you'd think," he smiled. She smiled back at him, and their eyes locked. Mr. Gold felt something stir in hes heart, something he couldn't ever remember feeling before. Ever. She looked a little nervous, biting her lower lip slightly and her blue blue eyes going back and forth between the two of his brown eyes. He licked his lips, nervous himself, though he wasn't sure why. He saw her lean first, and nothing could have stopped him from leaning in return.

Their lips met, and everything was forgotten.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been three days since that rainy day. Three days since he had coffee in Miss French's apartment. Three days since he had kissed her. He had no idea what had come over him. Gold was not a romantic type of man, he hadn't been with a woman since his wife had left him. And yet he had...flirted(?) with Miss French, one of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. He had kissed her, to boot. What the hell was wrong with him? He was old enough to be her father. He was a sick, twisted old bastard for ever going into her apartment. And yet... and yet he couldn't shake her from his thoughts. Her eyes were forever imprinted on his mind, the way she had looked at him. He could hear her voice, with that Australian accent he wouldn't soon forget. And he still remembered they feel of her soft lips when they had pressed against his own... DAMN!

He needed to stop thinking about her. He was far too old and she was far too young for him. He had to push her out of his head and-

"Oh, hello Mr. Gold!"

Well, fuck.

He turned and saw that siren of a woman smiling brightly and heading towards him. "Good afternoon Miss French."

"Haven't seen you in a little while," she said. How on earth could she be so cheerful and manage to take away his bad moods?

"Yes, well... I've been busy." he said. Apparently she could also tie his tongue into knots.

"So I gathered," she said. "I was just on my way to lunch. Would you like to join me?"

Join her? For lunch? His head spun a little bit. What was she doing to him?

"...I'd like that a lot, Miss French." he said, amazed at his own words. She smiled at him and looped her arm around his so they could walk together.

Everyone had been shocked when they walked in together arm in arm. Ruby's jaw dropped to the floor and Gold had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling.

"We must be very popular," Belle winked as they sat down. Everyone was still staring or glancing at them together.

"It's only because they see an old monster with a woman as beautiful as yourself," he said, and then he realized with had just left his mouth. Oh god... She looked up at him, surprised and flattered and blushing.

"...Bit forward for lunch, don't you think, Mr. Gold?" she smiled, trying to hide behind the menu in her hands. "But thank you for the compliment..."

He decided to shut up before he made things worse. Ruby came back a few minutes later asking what their orders were. Gold realized that he had been too busy concentrating on Belle that he forgot to figure out what he wanted for lunch.

"I'll have a burger, and an Ice tea, please," Belle smiled. Ruby nodded and looked at him.

"And for you?" she asked, a little wary.

"...Same," he said and Ruby left. Belle smiled at him.

"I didn't think you were the burger type," she said.

"Well I... I usually don't eat them, but ah I thought it would be nice to have one again. As long as there's ketchup.." he stumbled around his words. He sounded like a blathering idiot. She just smiled wider and proceeded to make small talk about how her library business was doing and then started asking him about how his shop was. Talking about his shop made it easier, and he even started joking with her. It was so...easy to fall into conversation with her. Well, after the effects of her tying his tongue in knots. And talk he did while they ate, and he even convinced her to let him buy dessert. They shared a slice of cherry pie, her favorite. And maybe it was just the sugar, but the red of the cherry on her lips made them look so much more inviting...

"I better head back to the library," she said when she was finished.

"I'll-I'll walk with you," he said and stood with her. She smiled, (God, she smiled so much, not that it was a bad thing.), and took his arm. Again, they were stared at as they left together, but neither of them paid any attention. They walked arm in arm together back towards the library, and stopped at the door.

"Thank you for joining me today, Mr. Gold," she said. "I had a good time."

"Thank you for inviting me, Miss French," he said sincerely. "I had a lovely time too."

Belle looked up into his eyes. "...Do you think you could start calling me Belle?"

"...I can certainly try..." he said.

"Good," she said. "Because Miss French is just too formal... So what do I call you?"

He stared at her, wondering what to say. Did he really want to give her his first name? Well, he was going to have to one of these days, so why the bloody hell not?

"R-Robert," he said softly, in case anyone else heard.

"Robert," she smiled. "I like it." He found himself smiling back at this funny girl, and he saw her lean up to him. And just like last time, he couldn't stop himself from leaning back. Her lips met his, and he could taste the cherry pie, along with her taste of butterscotch candy. To him, there was no sweeter taste.

He wanted this moment to last, but all too soon she pulled away. He let out something like a whine, a sound he never thought he'd ever make. She giggled and winked at him.

"I'll see you around, Robert," she said and headed into the library. He sighed and smiled softly. He put his hand in his pocket and headed back to his shop. There was something in his pocket that wasn't there before. He pulled out a napkin, and on it in Belle's handwriting: a phone number and the words,

"_Call me ;) -Belle_"

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**I cannot believe i am actually continuing this story. i hadn't intended to orriginally, but then plot bunnies started hitting me when people started asking it to be longer. i'm not sure how long this will be, but it's going to be fluffier than cotton candy. i hope you all like it and please please please comment! **

**hugs and loves!**

**darkonesroses**


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